Issuing eviction notices is part of a routine process, said state Home Minister. (Representational)
Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday alleged that amid the lockdown, the BJP- led state government has served notices to 24 former ministers who were part of the previous Kamal Nath dispensation, asking them to vacate the official bungalows allotted to them.
The ruling BJP, however, termed it as a "routine administrative procedure" aimed at accommodating the new ministers in those bungalows.
The Congress leaders questioned the government's move as it came amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.
"Shocking action of MP government; In the midst of corona pandemic, the authorities issued eviction notices to 24 Congress ex-ministers in the hot spot Bhopal, asking them to vacate government residences," Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha alleged in a tweet on Wednesday.
"@ChouhanShivraj (CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) and @drnarottammisra (Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra) personally ensuring (this). SC/HC (Supreme Court and High Court) bar(red) coercive action in corona time," he alleged.
In a statement, All India Congress Committee (AICC) media coordinator Abhay Dubey said the government took this action out of frustration.
"The Kamal Nath government never prejudicially took such action during its tenure. On Wednesday, the government accommodation of former Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot was illegally sealed, which is located in the containment zone of Bhopal," Mr Dubey said.
Mr Bhanot's residence is located in Char Imli area, which is a containment zone after the coronavirus positive cases were found in the locality.
State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, however, told reporters that issuing eviction notices is part of a routine process.
"Whenever a new government comes to power, the ministers in the previous dispensation have to vacate the bungalows," he said.
State BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal said, "Whether in power or not, the Congress leaders have intense desire to get the government facilities. The government accommodations are not provided to settle down. These bungalows are allotted as a minister so that they can perform the work."
He said that the notices were served as per the law, no one will be treated insensitively.
This is not a violation of any guidelines or rules, he said, adding that this is a routine administrative process to get the house vacated from old ministers to accommodate new ones.